Restraint
by Lucifer Rosemaunt
Summary: Carter/Ryan slash. Ryan’s trying to be a good brother by avoiding Carter.


Fandom: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own *insert fandom name from above*... All I own is an overactive imagination.  
Summary: Carter/Ryan slash. Ryan's trying to be a good brother by avoiding Carter.  
Warning(s): slash  
Pairing(s): Carter/Ryan  
Word Count: 2,207

A/N: Day 14 of "22 new fandoms in 22 days." Calendar link up in my profile. I think the rating's appropriate. I'm not sure.  
Story note: Power Rangers? I should've just done MMPR, since that's the one I actually watched, but this pairing wasn't too difficult to see (for me at least). Besides, there aren't many of this pairing (always got to fight for the underdog).

o.o.o.o

Restraint  
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

o.o.o.o

Ryan knew he'd made the right decision by joining the rangers. Diabolico was the one who deserved to be killed, not his father, not his sister. It was just that adjusting to this new life was a little difficult. The rangers had been great. They'd accepted him and even tried to make him feel welcome, but sometimes, they were _too_ friendly.

It wasn't as though he avoided them though. He was really making an effort to get closer to them, to form that bond they all already seemed to have with each other. He could joke around with Joel and Kelsey and he'd even gone to check out Chad's show with the dolphins at the marine amusement park. He spent time with Dana and his father, and it was becoming less difficult to accept their love for him. He could handle them in small increments.

On the other hand, there were times where he'd watch them laugh and joke around with each other and he just couldn't bring himself to exert that much energy for no reason. He'd been raised by demons; socializing was a bit different for him. As in, no one socialized without an ulterior motive. No one met just to spend time with each other. He thought that he'd been doing well to forget those lessons. He didn't quite seek the others out, but they were always around.

There was one person he did his best to avoid though…

"Ryan!" Carter jogged up to him. "Are you heading towards the mess hall?"

… the leader of their group. Ryan tried to avoid him as much as possible because he loved his sister and if he were honest with himself, the first time he'd seen Carter, he'd found himself looking a little too hard. Seeing as the rangers' identities weren't a secret, he'd kept on eye on them just as Diabolico had ordered, watching as they'd progressed as a team. His attention had always been drawn towards the red ranger, the way he talked, fought, and struggled against the batlings. It had gotten to the point that as he was ordered to kill the rangers, he'd considered saving Carter for himself. The idea was as attractive now as it had been then, excluding the killing the other rangers part of course. After all, he'd learned that if you wanted something, the only way to obtain it would be to take it by force.

That had been before though, that had been before he'd learned the truth about his past. It had definitely been before he'd seen the way his sister looked at Carter. So, to save himself the trouble of having to stifle his urges, since he'd learned spending too much time with Carter often drove him to the brink of insanity with the need to touch the other man, he'd decided avoidance was obviously the best way to go.

It was a bit difficult though. Whenever the others invited him, they also invited Carter. Of course they would. They apparently needed to do everything as a team. All the effort he'd been making to socialize a little more, to become friends with the other rangers was all going to waste. It didn't matter though. His sister was important to him, and it wasn't like Carter seemed to care that they were never alone together. The red ranger had never invited him anywhere or sought him out.

Ryan stiffened as Carter put his arm around his shoulder. He could feel his face blush, feeling the warm pressure of the red ranger against his side and how close their faces were. From what he'd seen, Carter was not _that _friendly. He'd never seen him put his arm around Chad or Joel, definitely not around the girls either. His heart was beating way too hard at that thought. He quickly noted that they were about the same height, but he knew that Carter had several pounds on him and none of it fat. Not that he'd been trying to look. It was just hard not to tell when they were morphed.

He _had _been heading to eat lunch, but not anymore. Carter's arm was leading him towards the mess hall though. Ryan ducked under his arm and shook his head firmly. "No, I was just going," every place he automatically thought of, Carter could potentially follow, so he said, "to my room."

He turned and walked quickly down the hall without once looking back. He didn't hear Carter follow him, but he only felt safe once the door to his room shut. Walking to the far wall where his dresser was, he banged the bottom of his fist against it and let out a frustrated sigh. That was unexpected, Carter not only calling him but touching him so enthusiastically. It wasn't that the red ranger was unkind to him; rather, he was treated like an officemate. They were barely better than just work acquaintances – unlike how Dana and Carter were together. He'd seen them whispering to each other just this morning, their heads close, his sister smiling widely, and Carter's answering smile.

Maybe he should go to the gym to work out a bit, relieve some of the tension he felt. The thought of leaving the base altogether came to mind. He'd be able to easily lose Carter in Mariner Bay. However, leaving the base usually was just an invitation to be attacked, though right now kicking a few battling butts didn't sound too bad either.

He didn't know how or if it was even possible, but he was going to do everything in his power to leave Carter Grayson alone, even when all his instincts told him to just claim him already.

He started when he heard a knock on the door. Not answering in hopes that whoever was outside would think he wasn't in, he waited. However, the knock came again. Ryan didn't have to open the door to know who stood behind it.

"Ryan?" Carter called.

Weighing the pros and cons of opening the door, Ryan found himself walking towards it even though he was certain the cons had won.

As the door slid open, Ryan gave an apologetic grin, "Sorry. I didn't hear you." He stayed in front of the door, keeping Carter from entering his room because of all the places he didn't need Carter in, it was his room. "I thought you were going to eat lunch?"

Carter frowned, giving him a calculating look. Ryan knew that meant trouble. It was one of those expressions that said Carter was not going to leave until he figured out a mystery, and unfortunately for Ryan, he was the mystery. "I wanted to eat with you since you haven't eaten since breakfast, and even then you only had an apple. I thought you'd be hungry by now," he answered, and Ryan had to hide his surprise. Was Carter following him around? Sure, he'd seen both Dana and he look up when he'd entered the mess hall that morning, but wasn't that being a bit too observant?

"I'm not hungry yet," Ryan replied. "I…"

"Do you mind if I come in?" Carter asked, taking a step closer to Ryan who reflexively took a step back to keep some modicum of distance between them.

Not seeing any other choice besides a confrontation, Ryan stepped aside. "Sure. Did you… want to talk about something?"

Walking rather confidently into Ryan's room, Carter stopped in the middle and took a moment to do a quick perusal of his room. Realizing what he was doing, Ryan suddenly felt self-conscious. There really wasn't any reason to feel that way, considering the fact the room was spotless.

"You don't have pictures or anything." Carter noted aloud to himself.

Ryan nodded. He had a picture of his family, but that was hidden in his drawer. He didn't really have any other personal affects; anything he'd accumulated growing up had been destroyed or taken from him.

"So…" Ryan waited impatiently. His eyes kept moving from Carter to the bed and he knew he needed the other man to leave the room as soon as possible. While Carter's back was still turned, Ryan quickly adjusted his pants as the thoughts that plagued him at night were, at least partially, coming true. All that was left now were the clothes and the distance between them.

Carter, finally finished with his perusal, turned to him. He asked seriously, "Are you okay?"

Ryan looked down to do a quick check, but nothing looked out of place or too obvious. "Yeah. Do I not look okay?"

"No," Carter put his hands on his hips with a sigh, "the others just noticed you were acting a little differently."

A harsh bark of laughter came out before Ryan could stop himself. He asked incredulously, "Is this some sort of intervention? _The others _sent you?"

Not even fazed by the sudden turnaround, Carter just shook his head, maintaining eye contact. "_I _noticed you were acting differently. You've been distracted and you don't spend as much time with everyone as you used to." Shrugging, he looked away, "You've been avoiding me, too."

Opening his mouth to say that it was just his imagination, Ryan hesitated. He thought he'd been rather discrete about staying away from Carter; after all, he hadn't wanted to make it seem like he didn't like him, just that if Carter were going to spend time with a Mitchell, it should be with his sister. Instead of trying to deny it, Ryan decided it was time to fix all their problems.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes," Carter said slowly, confusion obvious in his expression.

Ryan made sure he was grinning as he moved a little further away from Carter, hopping to sit on his desktop. "You've definitely got to keep this a secret though, and you didn't hear this from me."

That perked Carter's interest. He muttered to himself, "You two are definitely siblings."

"What?" Ryan didn't catch what he'd said.

"Nothing," he shrugged it off. Momentarily allowing the original conversation to be swayed, Carter prompted, "Of course, I can keep a secret."

For a second, Ryan couldn't keep his smile when the consequences of what he was about to say flashed through his mind. Dana and Carter would date. However, the moment passed quickly before the smile was back in place. "I think my sister likes you."

Carter tilted his head to the side, trying to discern if Ryan was being serious. It was only a few moments later when he began to grin, coming to a realization that maybe Ryan hadn't changed the topic of their conversation.

Seeing his expression, Ryan couldn't bear it any longer. He looked down at his lap and tried to relax his hands from the death grip he'd had on the desk without realizing it.

"I think I'm hungry now," he slid off the table and headed towards the door. It had barely slid open when Carter hit the control to shut it again. Ryan turned around in surprise only to find that Carter was right there. Jerking backwards to put some distance between them, Ryan found himself backed up against the door.

Placing his hands on the door to trap Ryan in place, Carter grinned, meeting shocked green eyes with a new confidence. "Can _you_ keep a secret?"

Ryan nodded his head mutely. He could feel Carter's breath against his face and he pressed against the door harder even though every part of him wanted to close the distance between them.

"Just this morning," Carter leaned forward a bit closer, enough to feel the air on his lips when Ryan let out a shaky breath, "Dana said that _you_ like me." He moved closer; so close their lips were almost touching. He was waiting for Ryan to close to distance or push him away.

Ryan barely heard the words. The fact that Carter was willingly there was too much for his restraint. He eagerly closed the distance. Before he could reach forward, Carter had him pressed him completely against the door, their bodies touching from chest to groin. Ryan moaned as Carter coaxed his mouth open, one hand on the back of his hand pulling him ever closer, as though they weren't close enough. Ryan's hands grabbed Carter's waist tightly. As one hand began to stray beneath the familiar red shirt, the door slid open.

Both men fell to the floor rather ungracefully, Carter landing on top of Ryan. Looking up, Ryan was horrified to see his sister standing there, her mouth agape for a moment before she began to smirk.

Carter was quick to get to his feet, tugging Ryan up with him.

Dana quirked an eyebrow at Carter, "That was fast."

Carter laughed uncomfortably, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed.

"Sis…" Ryan started.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright," she shrugged and added, "I guess I have my answer" while winking at Ryan before walking away.

Ryan covered his face with his hand. "That was horrible."

Having gotten over his own embarrassment seeing Dana's disinterest, Carter grabbed Ryan's shirt before pulling him back into the room. "I'll remember the lock this time."

o.o.o.o

End ficlet

A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!  
Story Note: Ah, no real smut. Just mentions of dirty thoughts and the like.


End file.
